michele and i are humbled to join you again on this solemn anniversary. today, we remember a day that began like so many others. there were rides to school and commutes to work, early flights and familiar routines, quick hugs and quiet moments. it was a day like this one, a clear blue sky, but a sky that would soon be filled with clouds of smoke and prayers of a nation shaken to its core. even now, all these years later, it is easy for those of us who lived through that day to close your eyes and to find ourselves back there and back here, back when grief crashed over us like an awful wave, when americans everywhere held each other tight seeking the reassurance that the world we knew wasn't crumbling under our feet. 11 times we have marked another september 11th come and gone. 11 times we have paused in remembrance and reflection, in unity and in purpose. this is never an easy day, but it is especially difficult for all of you, the families of nearly 3,000 innocents who lost their lives. your mothers and fathers, your husbands and wives, your sons and you